Keir Starmer faces more resignations from Labour’s frontbench if he does not shift his policy on Gaza, amid growing anger in the party over how he has handled the vote on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The Labour leader suffered the biggest rebellion of his tenure on Wednesday night as 10 frontbenchers resigned or were sacked from his team after voting for a Scottish National party motion that called for a ceasefire.
Sources say several of those who remained loyal and kept their jobs are nonetheless angry about how the issue has been managed, and would be willing to quit if Starmer does not push the government to take a tougher line on Israeli military action in the region.
Rushanara Ali, one of three Muslim frontbenchers to back the party line on Wednesday, said in a statement: “Leaving the shadow government is something I am always willing to do, which is why I completely respect the decisions taken by my fellow MPs today.
The SNP motion, which was introduced as an amendment to the king’s speech, has triggered one of the biggest crises of Starmer’s leadership, with 56 Labour MPs in total defying orders to vote in favour of it rather than abstain.
Starmer and his top officials spent weeks in what one party source called “very, very, tense” negotiations with Labour MPs in the lead-up to Wednesday night as they debated how to respond.
The original article contains 762 words, the summary contains 233 words. Saved 69%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Keir Starmer faces more resignations from Labour’s frontbench if he does not shift his policy on Gaza, amid growing anger in the party over how he has handled the vote on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The Labour leader suffered the biggest rebellion of his tenure on Wednesday night as 10 frontbenchers resigned or were sacked from his team after voting for a Scottish National party motion that called for a ceasefire.
Sources say several of those who remained loyal and kept their jobs are nonetheless angry about how the issue has been managed, and would be willing to quit if Starmer does not push the government to take a tougher line on Israeli military action in the region.
Rushanara Ali, one of three Muslim frontbenchers to back the party line on Wednesday, said in a statement: “Leaving the shadow government is something I am always willing to do, which is why I completely respect the decisions taken by my fellow MPs today.
The SNP motion, which was introduced as an amendment to the king’s speech, has triggered one of the biggest crises of Starmer’s leadership, with 56 Labour MPs in total defying orders to vote in favour of it rather than abstain.
Starmer and his top officials spent weeks in what one party source called “very, very, tense” negotiations with Labour MPs in the lead-up to Wednesday night as they debated how to respond.
The original article contains 762 words, the summary contains 233 words. Saved 69%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!